The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers were four points short of giving us an all-Harbaugh Super Bowl last year. They have fought to make it all the way back to the Sunday's NFL conference championship games.

As they've waited this long to shake off the lingering disappointments, expect nothing less than their Sunday best.

AFC Game/Upset of the Week

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots (6:30 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS). The Ravens gave up two huge plays in last week's 38-35 double-overtime victory over the Denver Broncos, but they advanced because they made more of their own. If the Broncos didn't have ace returner Trindon Holliday, Baltimore wouldn't have needed to work for 75-minutes plus. There's no rest for the weary, however, and the Ravens must show the same energy to beat the Patriots.

"How do you stop Tom Brady" is the wrong question to ask for any team that visits New England. The more appropriate question is: "How do you outscore Tom Brady?"

The Ravens are armed with quarterback Joe Flacco, who sizzled in the playoffs over two seasons and has the confidence of having outplayed Brady in the teams' past two games. The Ravens have won at Foxborough in the 2009 season's playoffs with their current core and know they were right there in last season's 23-20 loss in the AFC title game.

Baltimore must come out firing with a diverse offense. Expect Flacco to be let loose to get the ball downfield to his three best playmakers — Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta. That will open up opportunities for Ray Rice out of the backfield. The Patriots try to take away what an opponent does best, but the Ravens are executing at a high level in the passing and running games behind their strong line.

The Patriots proved again last week that nothing fazes their offense. Tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Danny Woodhead left with injuries, but Brady used Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Shane Vereen to pick apart Houston. The Texans didn't attack enough to match them, something the Ravens will do. Baltimore's defense also has more impact players who can produce a key stop, sack or turnover.

Much of the playoff attention on Baltimore has been on the impending retirement of Ray Lewis. But it's been a whole lot of other players, led by Flacco and Rice, paving the way for their surprising run. They have at least one more upset in them. Prediction: Ravens 33, Patriots 30

NFC Game of the Week

San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons (3 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX). There's no reason for Colin Kaepernick to feel so comfortable in a final four full of veteran, more prototypical quarterbacks. After all, he is in his second season and didn't become a starter until midway through this one. But that didn't matter last week and it won't matter against Atlanta. The Falcons will have their hands full trying to handle Kaepernick as a passer, let alone as a game-breaking runner.

Kaepernick's fast and furious style — zipping the ball accurately downfield and taking off in the open field — has become a nightmare for defenses. Just ask Dom Capers and the Green Bay Packers, who are still picking up the pieces from last Saturday night.

Atlanta will have trouble getting to Kaepernick because of the 49ers' strong line and the full support he gets from Frank Gore and the traditional running game. The diversity of San Francisco's balanced offense should keep the Falcons off-balance.

The Falcons do have a fair shot because of Matt Ryan. They can't worry about setting up balance with backs against the Niners' stout run defense. San Francisco's weakness is being spread out and facing an up-tempo passing game.

Atlanta showed those looks all season, and it's imperative that Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez all produce. Ryan will do his best, but as Aaron Rodgers' Packers, Brady's Patriots and others have found out, it keeps getting harder to keep up with Kaepernick. Prediction: 49ers 34, Falcons 27